PZInż

Sokół was a brand of motorcycles designed and manufactured in 1929-1939 by CWS, Centralne Warsztaty Samochodowe (Central Automotive Workshops) after its takeover by the PZInż state company in 1928. For a short time the brand was continued after WW2; in 1947-1950 Sokół 125 was built in Państwowe Zakłady Samochodowe nr 2 (State Automobile Works no. 2). The name „Sokół“ (Polish: Falcon) was first used in 1934 for touring motorcycle Sokół 600 RT. After 1936 the name was used for CWS M111, an earlier construction desiged by the same company. It became Sokół 1000. Just before WW2 a light motorcycle Sokół 200 was built in short series.

The first CWS motorcycle, CWS 55, was designed in 1928. The construction was copied from Harley Davidson and Indian motorcycles, but it was no way a good copy. In 1929 a young engineer, Zygmunt Okołów, was charged with a task of dealing with main failures of the motorcycle. The third series of CWS M 55 had met the demads of Polish authorities. CWS M 55 S-III was presented in Poznań in 1930 and immediately after the show it was contracted by the army. At the start, 20 machines with sidecars were comissioned. Next year Polish Mail company comissioned 10 units, too. Individual clients weren’t interested, because the price of the motorcycle was too high; it was comparable with the price of a small car. In 1931 PZInż construction team, lead by Zygmunt Okołów, started to design a heavier model, CWS M 111. Later it was known as Sokół 1000, or Sokół M 111. It was designed for military use. Without any major changes - except the change of its name in 1936 - it was produced till September 1939, when the war broke out. The exact production number is not known, Polish army in 1939 probably owned about 1600 units.

In 1932 the separate motorcycle division was created in construction office of PZInż. Its leader became Tadeusz Rudawski, a talented engineer and sports rider, who replaced Zygmunt Okołów in further developing CWS motorcycles. His first task was to construct a universal motorycycle, for both civilian and military use, available at affordable price. The mass production of this model, RT 600 (R for Rudawski and T for Tourist) started in 1934. The bike was named „Sokół“. The frame and suspension were similar to British Ariel, but the engine was Rudawski original design. It was the best motocycle built by PZInż so far, and its price was acceptable for individual clients. Till September 1939 about 4000 units were built.

Tadeusz Rudawski on Sokół 600 RT